This choice: Hide among the magazines • Go Back...Chapter #13Not hidden for long... by: sneakyk   Maybe the cashier is trustworthy. Maybe. But you didn't stop here to wind up in the custody of a human being. You came here to scavenge and survive, not live the life of a young man's pet. While he's still distracted, you rush off to the magazine rack. Only the lowest shelf is accessible to you, and among the magazines on the shelf, only one has a front page loose enough for you to use as visual cover. It just so happens to a video game magazine.
You manage to slip into the magazine just in time to avoid detection, the over-worked cashier remaining utterly oblivious to your existence. Given your recent track record with normal sized humans, you half expect him to 'adjust' the magazine in such a way that would hurt you, as if a being unaware you even exist could bear malice towards you. Thankfully such a thing never happens, and you are left alone to contemplate your existence.
You think back to the glimpse you caught of the enormous cover of the magazine, you ponder the limitations of your current lifestyle. Even the cartoon mascot on the front of the magazine, probably at most 3 inches in height, was gigantic compared to you. As long as you're this size, you'll never be able to play a video game again, at least, not without some degree of assistance. Until you manage to regain your normal size, if that ever happens, you won't even get a chance to touch any of the upcoming games mentioned in the magazine. On the other hand, your entire life has become a game of its own. A frightful and challenging one. You don't need such frivolities, and in time you imagine you won't have any desire to play them.
Other matters worth considering. The old lady you overheard earlier mentioned something about a spree of jewels being stolen without a trace. Could this possibly be the result of another shrunken person? Multiple shrunken people? It certainly could be done by a normal sized thief, but most wouldn't be able to conduct a spree of similar such thefts without a trace. Hopefully you won't get blamed for such a heist. Actually, now that you think about it, simply surviving at this grocery store is going to require you to engage in acts of petty thievery more or less nonstop. Not that a cracker crumb or water droplet is worth anything close to a precious jewel, but how different is it in spirit? No. You can't compare your lifestyle to thievery. You were very nearly trapped upon a diaper but a short while ago. You're a weak little being that couldn't possibly survive without a little scavenging. You cannot blame yourself for leading such a lifestyle. This does invite another question, however...at this point, are you more of a man, or more of a bug?
As you ponder your circumstances, you feel the magazine's cover mash firmly against your back. In the corner of your vision you catch a glimpse of a finger mashing against the side of the magazine. It's far higher than your position at the bottom of the magazine, yet still the impact is enough to clench the pages together firmly around your body. The magazine lurches forward, your gut quivering like wild as your body enters into a state not unlike freefall. In an instant the magazine cover is opened enough to allow you to tumble out, and you roll to a halt atop the conveyor belt once more. You turn your attention upwards and realize that you have been spotted by | Members who added to this interactive story also contributed to these: |
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